Strainer for receptacle drains



g- 24, 1954 I w. L. SHELTON 2,687,216

STRAINER FOR RECEPTACLE DRAINS Filed Dec. 27, 1951 a fi '0 a I n- Fi .2V '2 I0 26 2 3a 9 Invnbof Winston L.'5helton,

b mfl i, 7 His Attorney.

V the rotating parts.

Patented Aug. 24, 1954 STRAINER FOR, RECEPTACLE DRA'INS Winston L.Shelton, Trenton, N. J., assignor to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Application December 27, 1951, Serial No.263,596

The present invention relates to protective devices for receptacle drainconduits, and more particularly to an improved strainer and vortexinhibitor for use in the drain outlet of a clotheswasher tub.

In a common type of domestic clothes washer, the articles to belaundered are placed Within a clothes basket rotatably mounted within anenclosing tub. At the completion of each wash or rinse operation, thewashing liquid is removed from the basket by centrifugal extraction,either through a suitable row of openings near the top of the basket, orover the basket rim. The lint which has accumulated in the washing ofthe clothes and occasionally certain small items of clothing, such aschildrens socks or articles of baby clothing which may be carried orthrown over the basket rim, are collected in the tub during thecentrifugal extraction operation. Because of the presence of both lintand, at least occasionally, items of clothing, the problem of drainingthe receptacle has always been a difiicult one. Since a rather largequantity of lint is gathered with each wash, it is desirable that thedrain system automatically dispose of it with the outgoing water, but itis obviously objectionable to have a drain system which will dispose ofclothing inadvertently thrown into the outer tub. Moreover, since mostdrain systems are equipped with a fluid pump in order to more rapidlyexhaust the water collected in the tub, a drain permitting the passageof items of clothing will frequently result in the pump being renderedinoperative by clogging or jamming of This not only results in damage tothe clothing, but in addition requires a service call before the machinecan again be operated. Consequently, there has been a need for a drainsystem which will permit the free passage of lint, which will preventthe passage of clothing items, and which will remain open to drain thewater under any circumstances likely to arise.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a protectivedevice for a receptacle drain which will selectively pass foreign matterof a predetermined physical characteristic while restraining otherforeign materials.

It is another object of my invention to provide a drain conduit strainerwhich is inherently I self-cleaning and which is readily removable andreplaceable for the recovery of articles restrained from entering thedrain.

In carrying out my invention in a presently preferred form, I provide astrainer device com- 2 Claims. (01. 210-94.)

prising a plurality of radially extending fiat fin The attaching meansare formed inwardly of the circle defined by the outer edges of the fin,since each strainer is made to fit a conduit of a diameter smaller thanthat of the protective circle afforded by the fin arrangement. The finsare connected together at their inner edges in such a manner that thespace between adjacent fins near the apioes thereof communicates withthe drain conduit to provide a plurality of separate small drainpassages, thereby limiting the articles which can be passed into thedrain in accordance with their physical size, shape and othercharacteristics. The fin members, moreover, are provided with smoothexterior surfaces and preferably have rounded upper edges so thatforeign matter in the liquid solution which is to be permitted to enterthe drain system will be readily swept off the strainer surfaces by theflow of Water.

In the application to which my strainer device is peculiarly wellsuited, I place it in the upper opening of the drain conduit in aclothes washer outer tub, with the radially extending fin membersreaching beyond the drain opening and preferably resting on the bottomof the tub to prevent lint from accumulating under their bottom edges.The depending securement members frictionally engage the drain conduitreleasably to hold the strainer in place and resist the tendency of theturbulent wash water to dislodge the strainer as the fins divide itsflow into separate channels. Commonly the drain conduit may serve as theintake to the drain pump and thus the strainer devic may serve thecombined purposes of preventing loss of clothing items, permittingpassage of lint, protecting the pump against jamming of its impeller orgears, and inhibiting the vortex action of the turbulent wash liquid asit enters the drain.

The features of my invention which I believe to be novel are set forthwith particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however,both as to its construction and application, together with furtherobjects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference tothe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1

is a sectional elevation of a typical clothes washing machine to whichmy invention has been applied; Fig. 2 is an elevation, with one of thefins broken away to show underlying structure, of my preferred form ofstrainer device; and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the strainer shown inFig. 2.

Referring'now to Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have shown my invention usedin conjunction with a currently popular domestic clothes washercomprising an outer casing l, a tub 2 suitably secured within thecasing, and a clothes receiving basket 3 rotatably mounted within thetub. As illustrated, the tub is molded from rubber or the like and isflexible; it should be understood, however, that it may be made rigid bythe use of sheet metal, the particular tub construction not constitutingany part of my invention. A cover t with a removable lid completes theouter casing structure.

Suitable filling means, not shown, are customarily provided forautomatically supplying washin liquid through a nozzle 5 to the clothesbasket. Several times during the conventional cycle, the washing liquidis removed from the basket by centrifugal extraction, during whichoperation it fiows through a row of openings 6 in the basket wall, orover the upper basket edge, into the outer tub 2. A bladed agitator l isprovided within the basket for vigorously agitating the clothes andwashing liquid in the conventional manner. The agitator and clothesbasket are supported by shafts, not shown, extending upwardly from adrive mechanism casing 8 in which the transmission is housed. This drivemechanism casing and its associated motor, belts and sheaves may beconstructed as shown and described in the pending application of JacobW. McNairy, Serial No. 164,427, filed May 26, 1950, now a Patent Number2,639,794, May 26, 1953, for Drive Clutch for Washing Machines or theLike, and its mounting arrangement may be similar to that disclosed inthe pending application of Clifford L. Reitz et al., Serial No. 164,382,filed May 26, .1959, for Supporting Frame for Clothes Washer Mechanism,both of which applications are assigned to the General Electric Company,assignee of the present invention.

Briefly stated, this drive means and its mounting arrangement comprise aresilient mounting pedestal ii on which is fixed an angular supportmember 58, having an overhanging end portion H on which a reversibledrive motor 12 is supported. The member It may support the gear casing 8by a connection between its upwardly extending extremity l3 and a baseplate of the casing and by employin studs or equivalent spacer means il. The gear casing 8 extends into the tub 2 by passage through a neckportion I5 thereof. As will be obvious, this neck portion is suitablyfastened to the cylindrical wall of the casing 8 by conventional clampinmeans, not shown, which insure against leakage from the tub. lhe motori2 is drivingly associated with a pump it having an inlet tightly fittedwithin 2. depending drain neck portion ll of the tub 2. This pump may beunidirectional and upon rotation in a predetermined direction willautomatically discharge the contents of the tub 2 through a conduit 13Connected to any suitable disposal means, not shown. Obviously, the pumpcould be made to operate by conventional timed switch means wheneveremptying of the tub 2 is desired, and the showing of a unidirectionalcontinuously driven pump for operation only when the drivin is in apredetermined direction, is for purposes of illustration only. In fact,my invention can be applied to a tub having a gravity drain system,although it is particularly useful with a drain pump arrangement becauseof the special protection required by the pump.

As explained in the aforementioned lVicNalry application, the motor l2,in addition to drivin the pump 18, supplies torque to the mechanism, notshown, within the casing 8, by means or a pair of unidirectionalclutches is and 20 and a suitable arrangement of belts and sheaves.

The details of the clothes washer structure described above are not apart of my invention, as previously pointed out, and it should beunderstood that my improved strainer and protective device can beadvantageously employed in any receptacle drain. It is illustrated inthe drain of a clothes washer tub because of its peculiar suitabilitywhen both lint and small clothing articles are present in the liquid tobe drained.

Because the tub 2 is illustrated as a fiexible container, I have shown arigid conduit 2! extending upwardly from the intake opening of the pumpit, through the tub neck portion ll, and into the space above the tubbottom. Were a rigid tub used, either the depending neck portion or theupwardly extending conduit could be eliminated. It should be understood,moreover, that my strainer can be suitably attached in the drain openingwithout the drain conduit being extended above the tub bottom, but ithas been found that this extension aids in the making of a secureconnection.

Removably inserted in the drain conduit 2! is a strainer 22 comprising aplurality of radially extending fins 2?,- and 23a and a plurality of legmembers 24 depending from certain fins, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3.The strainer 22 may be of any suitable material; satisfactory ones havebeen molded of several common thermo-plastic materials. As shown in Fig.l, the leg members 2 1 frictionally grip the inner surface of the drainconduit 2i to releasably secure the strainer in place. In theillustrated embodiment, I have shown eight radial fins, with alternatefins 23a including integrally therewith leg members it, while theintermediate fins do not include such legs. Fig. 2, having a portion ofan intermediate fin broken away, clearly illustrates a fin 23c with anintegral depending leg 2 As a further aid in attaching the strainer tomake it secure in spite of the rather vigorous action of the water beingdrained, I have recessed the fins at the base of each leg to form anindentation 25 into which the upper extension of the sleeve 22 fits. Itwill be understood, or" course, that these indentations are unnecessaryfor successful utilization of my invention in most instances; further,it is generally not necessary that more than three leg members heprovided for suitable securernent. I prefer, however, to use 6 or 8 finswith 3 or l legs and to provide the indentations as described, whenapplying my strainer to a clothes washer drain. Obviously however, oneleg may be used with each fin. It should be understood, of course, thatmy invention is not limited to the particular attachment means shown, asother similar means of securement may be used.

As is clear from the inspection of Fig. 3, the several fins are joinedtogether at the center of the strainer, each adjacent pair of finsmaking an acute angle. While it is not essential that 8 fins or anyother particular odd or even number be used, it is necessary that asuficient number of fins be employed to form series of acute angles toprovide narrow channels or openings leading from the top of thestrainer, where the strainer is open to the tub, down to the drainoutlet. Thus the strainer will prevent small items of clothing fromentering it and jamming the pump. Moreover, the fins must be extended aconsiderable distance relative to the diameter of the outlet; as aminimum, the distance from the center of the strainerto the outer endsof the fins 23 must be greater than the radius of the outlet which thedevice protects. This is to form a large protective circle, defined bythe outer extremity of the fins, to keep small items of clothing at sucha distance from the drain openin as to leave the openings to the drainconduit substantially unimpaired for the free passage of washing liquidand lint. Furthermore, making each of these fins of sufficient widthrelative to the drain opening provides large surfaces over whicharticles of clothing can drape. Thus, the articles which should not bepermitted to pass into the drain outlet will usually do no more thanfold over and temporarily wrap about one fin, or, at most, become lodgedin the space between two adjacent fins. Even the latter occurrenceleaves the other -pas sages to the drain opening unimpaired and,sincedischarge over the clothes basket of more than two or three such itemsduring a wash is unusual, the possibility of clog ing the strainer isremote.

It can be readily seen from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3 thatuniformly smooth flat surfaces are presented. Consequently, lintstrands, having nothing about which to wrap, will not accumulate on thestrainer as in the case of wire or perforated metal strainers. Alsobecause of the smooth surface presented, the water entering the drainoutlet will sweep lint particles intothe drain where they are readilypassed by the pump and discharged into a suitable disposal conduit. Tofurther facilitate this action and to eliminate the possibility of lintcatching on and hanging over the upper edges of the strainer fins, Ihave provided these members with rounded upper edges 26, as best seen inFig. 2. This makes the accumulation of lint very unlikely, as lint willbe readily washed ofi the rounded edges into the space between fins andinto the drain by the normal flow of washing liquid. Small clothingarticles likewise will be washed off the top of the.

device to the bottom of the tub -2 and either wrapped around the outercircle defined by the outer edges of the fins or draped over a singlefin or pair of fins.

As explained previously, the size of the strainer must necessarilydepend, to some extent, on the size of the drain to be protected, sinceit is essential that the radius of the .circle outlined by the edges ofthe fins must exceed the radius of the drain opening. Otherwise, theprotective outer circle will be too small to eifectively preventclogging of the strainer by clothing articles if the drain is small, orif the drain is large the passage between adjacent fins would be toolarge to prevent clothing items from reaching the pump. In theapplication shown in Fig. 1, however, the fins form a protective circlethat is large relative to the drain opening, and together formnarrowpassageways leading to the drain since only the narrow portions ofthe acute angles formed between fins communicate with the drain opening.

Although the height of the fins is not as critical as their width, it isimportant that, in the particular application illustrated, the fins besufficiently high that the expected foreign material, such as a childssock, would not be able to completely cover the strainer. In theillustrated application, for example, the fins are made 1% inches high,which size has been very satisfactory In use.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will beunderstood, of course, that I do not Wish to be limited thereto sincemany modifications may be made; and I, therefore contemplate, by theappended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A strainer for the drain conduit of a clothes washer tub in whichsaid conduit forms the intake passageway for a liquid pump, comprisingan assembly formed of a plurality of fiat imperforate fins extendingradially outwardly from a central axis and connected together at theirinward edges to form a hub extending outwardly and coaxially from saidconduit, the radial width of each of said fins being greater than theradius of the opening of said drain conduit, said fins forming aplurality of acute angles to provide passages between the fins parallelto said axis, said passages opening laterally from one end of the finassembly, the ends of said passages at the hub end of said assemblybeing adapted to discharge into said drain conduit opening, saidassembly being proportioned to said conduit opening so that said hubends of said passages are of insufiicient size to permit the passage ofarticles capable of rendering said pump inoperative, and means forsecuring said strainer to said drain conduit with registry therewith.

2. A strainer for the drain conduit of a clothes washer tub, whichconduit forms the intake passageway for a liquid pump, comprising acentral hub portion extending from the strainer outer end to the conduitinlet with a diameter less than the conduit diameter and coaxial withthe entrance to the conduit, a plurality of imperforate plates formingfins integral with and extending radially from said hub a distanceexceeding the conduit radius, adjacent ones of said fins forming anacute angle, thereby defining a plurality of converging passages intosaid hub and conduit, and a plurality of legs integral with certain ofsaid fins adapted to extend into said conduit for removably securing thestrainer wit in the conduit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 877,182 Refreth Jan. 21, 1908 1,180,018 Degnan Apr. 18, 19161,588,620 Ryan June 15, 1926 1,721,472 Rose July 16, 1929 1,811,728McKee June 23, 1931 1,937,732 Tverdak Dec. 5, 1933' 2,061,808 RachlinNov. 24, 1936 2,413,954 Conterman Jan. 7, 1947 said last-named ends in

